Patriots' Brady returns to practice

PHOENIX — Tom Brady was back where he belongs Monday, behind center for the New England Patriots' first practice session of Super Bowl week.

The NFL's Most Valuable Player missed three practices last week with a tender right ankle, which was taped for Monday's training at Arizona State in nearby Tempe. According to the Chicago Tribune's Dan Pompei, the designated pool reporter, the star quarterback appeared to have a slight limp but participated in all phases of practice, including jogging the length of the field twice at the end of drills.

Coach Bill Belichick, as usual, declined to comment on injuries or elaborate on Brady's presence.

"Everybody practiced," Belichick said. "The injury report will be out Wednesday."

Brady's return from an injury sustained in the AFC championship game against San Diego was a welcome sight to receiver Wes Welker.

"Anytime the MVP of the league is back, it has to be a positive," Welker said. "He looks good — the same dimples and all."

Brady talked about the ankle for the first time Sunday, shortly after arriving, and said it wouldn't be a problem for the game.

"I don't worry about Tom," tackle Matt Light said. "He can take care of himself. I have a bunch of guys in front of me from the Giants to worry about."

Brady's health became an issue a week ago when he was spotted wearing a protective boot on his right foot while visiting supermodel girlfriend Gisele Bundchen in New York. He sat out all three practices in Foxborough, Mass., when much of the game plan was being installed.

Fans have to wonder whether the ankle will slow down the record-setting passer against the New York Giants in Sunday's NFL title game, when New England tries to become the first league team to go 19-0.

"This won't keep me out of this game," he said Sunday, comparing the injury to a similar problem before the 2002 Super Bowl, in which he was the MVP. "That ankle didn't keep me out of the last game. It would have to take a hell of a lot more than an ankle."

Before the Patriots headed to Arizona, Brady appeared at a departure rally at Gillette Stadium and walked without slipping on a light dusting of snow on the field.

He also didn't limp when he arrived at Sky Harbor Airport and, later, at the news conference.

Monday's 1 hour, 40-minute workout was conducted in shorts and shells rather than full pads. The footing was good despite the recent rain.

"We just wanted to get a good, crisp practice and work on our timing," Belichick said. "We had a lot of contact last week."

Indeed. It was a week during which Brady's health overshadowed the Patriots moving in on the first perfect NFL season since the 1972 Miami Dolphins. Yes, the three-time champion quarterback's persona has transcended even the Super Bowl.

"I feel energized down here to come into the hotel and to kind of start the process," Brady said Sunday night. "It is going to be a very fast week. I am not concerned about how it is going to affect my playing, and I can't run anyway, so it is not going to have much of an impact."

BOSTON — A temporary restraining order against Randy Moss was extended until March 28 while the New England Patriots wide receiver was in Arizona on Monday preparing for the Super Bowl.

Moss' lawyer, Richard Sharpstein, said the decision came at a hearing in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., after he learned the player's longtime friend changed attorneys. She obtained the order Jan. 14.

Rachelle Washington's new attorney is Darrell Thompson, who replaces David McGill. A spokesman for Thompson confirmed the change. McGill did not return calls.

The temporary order required Moss to stay at least 500 feet from Washington. No criminal charge has been brought, and Moss and the woman described each other as longtime friends.

Moss has denied the accusation by Washington that he committed "battery causing serious injury" to her at her Florida home Jan. 6. Washington did not attend Monday's session, Sharpstein said.

"He will stay completely away from her and has no desire to have contact with her," the lawyer told the Associated Press. "He's in Phoenix busy preparing to win the Super Bowl and on a day like today his mind is elsewhere."

Moss defended his conduct in the Patriots' locker room on Jan. 16. Four days later, New England beat San Diego 21-12 in the AFC championship game at Foxborough. For the second straight game, he caught just one pass.

The issue, however, was quickly overtaken last week by the swirl of attention around quarterback Tom Brady, who was spotted wearing a protective boot on his right foot in New York. He didn't comment on it until arriving in Phoenix on Sunday night.

"It's feeling good. I'll be ready to go," Brady said.

On draft day last April, the Patriots sent a 2007 fourth-round draft choice to Oakland for Moss. He set an NFL season record of 23 touchdown catches, breaking Jerry Rice's mark by one. He finished tied for eighth in the league with 98 catches and second with 1,493 yards receiving.

Moss said the woman who obtained the order has been a friend for 11 years and she asked for "six figures" for what he said was an accident in which she was hurt.

"They're false allegations, something I've been battling for like the last couple of days of threats going public if I didn't pay X amount of dollars," Moss said. "This young lady by no means is hurt. I didn't hurt her."

Sharpstein said Monday that if Moss didn't agree to pay "a great deal of money" by 5 p.m. on Jan. 11, the day before the Patriots beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-20 in an AFC divisional playoff game, he would go public.

McGill issued a statement Jan. 17, saying that Moss' representatives were the first to suggest that Moss pay the woman to keep the issue quiet.

"She has suffered mental and physical harm as a result of his actions," the statement said. "She simply wants him to take responsibility for what he has done. As a battery victim, she has shown great strength throughout this entire ordeal.

Washington also alleged that Moss refused to allow her to seek medical treatment. Moss denied that. Neither McGill nor Sharpstein has specified the nature of an injury.

"He has acknowledged that he was at Ms. Washington's Florida residence and that he was 'guilty' of an 'accident' which occurred," the statement said.

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